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M2 PRESSWIRE-21 August 2002-US ARS: Fresh fruit gets a new protective coat (C)1994-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
RDATE:08212002
Apples and citrus are about to get a uniform new coat. But it's not to keep the fruit warm on cold orchard nights. Instead, these coatings act as biofungicides that keep fruit fresh longer during storage.
Agricultural Research Service scientists have been working to improve earlier biofungicides aimed at controlling decay of fruits and vegetables after harvest. Such fungal decay can destroy more than 25 percent of the world's harvested fruit.
Biological products, such as friendly yeasts, are used for environmentally safe pest control and to reduce dependence on synthetic chemicals. They work by consuming nutrients on fruit and vegetable skins that otherwise would allow rot-causing fungi to grow.
Charles L. Wilson, a plant pathologist with the ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, W.Va., and Ahmed El Ghaouth, a postharvest plant pathologist employed by Micro Flo Co. of Memphis, Tenn., conducted research leading to two patents issued this year.
One of the two new patents discloses how chitosan, a natural fungicide, can be compatibly combined with an ...
Source: HighBeam Research, Fresh fruit gets a new protective coat.